359: Keiran Olivares Whitaker on Black Soldier Fly Farming.

Composting with nature’s own army.


Keiran is the founder and CEO of Entocycle. He has a Masters in Environmental Design and Conservation, and while working as a scuba diving instructor he was fortunate enough to travel and visit some of the most beautiful places on earth. He saw first-hand the environmental damage that human development and current lifestyles are causing to these paradises.

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Convinced that we are killing our own planet, and that animal farming is the single most destructive activity humans have ever invented, he started Entocycle as an insect farming company using Black Soldier Flies to provide an alternative.  

In This Podcast:

It was a common tilapia being released into the wild that had a profound effect on Keiran Olivares Whitaker. His realization on how ecosystems were being devastated by man’s actions prompted him to try and make a difference.  He’s also highly aware of the cost of food miles so he’s been working on a solution that helps in many ways and a method to help build it close to where it is needed.  All it takes is an army of single focused soldiers… soldier flies, that is.

Listen in and learn about:

    • Growing up in England and seeking out colleges elsewhere
    • Living abroad and learning a lot about the human lifestyle
    • The awakening he had upon seeing a tilapia released in a new ecosystem
    • Being conscious of where food comes from
    • Why farmed fish need protein and where that is coming from
    • His prediction for what is going to happen if we continue on this path
    • The system they created to farm the Black Soldier Fly
    • Getting pre-consumer waste for the flies
    • The life cycle of a black soldier fly
    • How they are creating an efficient model that can be scaled up
    • What they are doing with the protein
    • Working in an old school building near the Tower Bridge of London
    • The difficulty to breed these soldier flies
    • These flies are the apex bioconverter
    • How this helps listeners and how listeners can help
“I believe the only way to win sustainably is to make sustainable business more financially viable than environmentally damaging ones.” – Keiran Olivares Whitaker

As well as:

His failure – Almost failing his schooling at each level

His success – Entocycle and growing from a 1-person to a 15-person operation

His drive – Caring about the planet

His advice – Don’t be afraid to start your own company

Keiran’s Book recommendations:

A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking

How to reach Keiran:          

Website:  www.entocycle.com

UrbanFarm.org/entocycle


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2 Comments

  1. The podcast on black soldier fly was very interesting.. many good points made..like creating the modular indoor systems next to the food waste system, rather than transporting food waste.

  2. I watched your episode of black fly rearing. I have a question what light do you use to get successful breeding.
    Jane
    nfrase@gmail.com
    I look forward to hearing from you. I live in Canada and working at building an aquaponic business and using the larvae to feed the fish so I what to learn how to get them to breed. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. It will take me a year to get it set up but I am working on it now. Thank you for your time.
    sincerely
    Jane

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